The film, and to a greater extent the book has strong themes of control and taste, and by extension democracy.
Alex appears to function with no morals, although in fact he uses a rigorous system developed and maintained between him and his friends. When this comes into conflict with established patterns of conduct i.e. he kills someone, those ideas come into question. The established 'authority' sees fit to discipline him and replaces one set of 'defective' morals with another.
Where Alex did not posess qualities that allowed him to fit into 'normal' society, he did act upon his own and was able to make personal decisions. In the end that was taken away from him in order that he could partcipate in an acceptable social situation because his views were in a minority.
The often used idea that the downside of free speach is that you might have to listen to something you don't like applies here. Also running through this are themes of alienation, nihilism etc all as a precursor to the dissatisfaction and dillusion of the 1970's.
The film does lack pace and energy, but features some excellent cinematography particularly at the Thames Mead estate (I think), which is still standing. Smashing someone in the balls for kicks looks great in slow motion, doesn't it?
